Safety device for clothes-wringers



W. A. SBHNEDLER.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR CLOTHES WRINGERS. APPLICATION FILED JAN.19,1921.

jlfifiQ, Patented 00%. 18 1921.

INVENTOR. W BY m :WMW m ATT NEYS.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM' A. SCHNEDLER, 0F GLEN RIDGE, NEW JERSEY.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR GLOTHES-WRING ERS.

Application filed January 19, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. Sorrmm- LER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Glen Ridge, county of Essex, and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in SafetyDevices for Clothes-Wringers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved safety device for clotheswringers, and is adapted toalso facilitate the feeding of wet clothes tothe wringer, whereby not only is the safety of the operator insured, butthe capacity of the wringer is increased, as clothes can be fed to itwith but little interruption.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in whichFigure 1 is a side view of a wringer equip ed with 'my improved safetydevice, and ig. 2 is a detail section on line 2-2 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is aperspective view of the device detached from the wringer and showing amodified form of guard, and Fig. 4 is a reduced side view showing amodified form of securing means for the guard, whereby the guard isreversible.

The drawing shows only so much of an ordinary clothes wringer as to makethe cooperation of the parts plain, the upright or side posts 10 of thewringer supporting the usual spring-pressed rolls 11. The device forinsuring the safety of the operator and to facilitate and speed up thefeeding of wet clothes, consists of a belt, the upper reach of whichforms an apron for feeding clothes between the rolls of the wringer,since the upper reach passes between the rolls, and which is furthermoreprovided with a guard which, while it permits substantially flatarticles to go through, and while it can be raised to permit an excessof material to go through, must be intentionally raised to permit thehands of the operator to get anywhere near the rolls of the wringer, andthere is thus no possibility of having the fin are or hand caughtbetween the rolls.

tructures for carrying out the inventionare illustrated in the drawing.The belt 12,

which is an endless belt and can be made of canvas or other similartough fabric, is

mounted so that its upper reach passes be tween the rolls '11 and itslower reach passes underthe lower roll 11, and is supported at its endsby suitable rollers 13 which are mounted in bearings 14 which arearranged Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oat-is, 1921.

Serial No. 438,307.

in the ends of the arms 15, which arms form parts of brackets whichextend preferablyto both sides of the frame 10, so that when the wringeris reversed the functioning of the device is the same except in areverse direction. The arms 15 are secured to back plates 16 which aresecured to the posts 10, a pair of' these back plates being included ineach bracket, and a bracket being fastened to each side of the posts 10on each side of the wringer, and the arms 15 projecting therefrom inopposite directions, a substantial support for the rolls 13' and thebelt 12 being provided.

The belt 12 is preferabl held under a tension, one form of doing t isbeing by means of springs 17 which abut against the bearings 14 ononeend and on the other end against an adjustable fixture, in the formshown this comprising pins 18 in rear of each spring 17, which .pins canbe fitted selectively in holes 19, so that if a spring weakens or a beltstretches slightly, the pins 18 can be moved toward the outer holes andthe tension of the springs 17 thus increased.

In Fig. 2 ll illustrate, in section, one manner of making the sideframes 15, which includes the tubular portion 20 to receive the springs17 and also the pins 18.

The device can be further stiffened by suitable braces 21. It will thusbe evident that when wet clothes are placed on the end of the upperreach of the belt 12 they are carried by the belt, which forms an apron,to the rolls 11, since the rolls 11, by their friction with the belt,drive the belt, and small articles, like handkerchiefs and towels andthe like, can be fed rapidly on the belt and thus pass through betweenthe rolls.

To guard against' thoughtless or accidental contact with the rolls, thusreventlng bodily injury, I provide a guar which in the form shownconsists of arms or strips 22 pivoted at their top ends,'as at 23, to

ears 24 on the back plates 16 and which can swing freely upward, butwhich are limited bunched clothing or other materialpassing to thewringer will not cause a drag on the belt and the roller will permit thegoods to pass on, but the guard will slightly raise, but still be inposition to prevent accidental contact of the fingers of the hand withthe rolls 11 and deter an operator from acting hastily to relieve anyjamming of clothes between the rolls 11. When the accumulated or bunchedmaterial has passed the roller 28, the guard, by its own weight, willthen descend to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, from itsraised position which is shown in dotted outline in the same figure.

If desired, I may make a single guard to be used on alternate sides ofthe wringer, this construction being shown in Fig, 4:, in which a singlepair of arms 22 is journaled, as at 29, at the top of the frame of thedevice and can be swung over to the other side of the frame, depending,of course, from which side clothes are being fed to the wringer.

This device can be made as a part of the wringer or it can be attachedto a wringer now in use, the whole structure being light in weight so asnot to add materially to the weight of the wringer itself.

I claim:

1. A safety device for clothes wringers comprising a pair of oppositelyrojecting arms having bearings at their en s for supporting rollers insaid bearings, a belt passing over the rollers and adapted to pass onits upper reach between the rolls of a wringer, and a guard hinged atits top end above the rolls and projecting at an angle downwardly andoutwardly and having at its* lower end a transverse fender normallyresting slightly above the upper reach of the belt, the guard beingadapted to swing freely in an upward direction.

2- A safety device for clothes wringers comprising brackets having meansfor securing them to the supports of a wringer, each bracket including aprojecting arm having a hearing at its end, rollers rotating in thebearings, a belt to pass over the rollers, a guard hinged at its top endto a pair of the brackets near the top thereof, the lower end of theguard resting on the arms near their outer ends, and a roller supportedtransversely near the bottom end of the guard and normally spacedslightly above the reach of the belt, the guard being adapted to swingfreely in an upward direction.

3. A safety device comp-rising oppositely disposed brackets, eachbracket including a pair of back plates with projecting arms, rollersmounted at the ends of the arms, a belt to pass over the rollers in eachbracket, a guard including side strips hinged at their tops to the backplates and swinging freely thereon, the side strips being in line withthe arms and adapted to rest thereon, and a roller secured on the sidestrips and disposed so as to be slightly above the belt when the stripsrest on the arms.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereto set my hand, this18th day of January, 1921.

W. A. SCHNEDLER.

